Sarah Snook on playing Shiv in HBO’s ‘Succession’

Episode notes

(Photo: HBO)

Odds are, you know actor Sarah Snook from her role on HBO’s Succession – one of the most acclaimed TV dramas in the last decade.

She plays Siobhan Roy, but to her friends and family, it’s just “Shiv.” She’s the youngest child and the only daughter in an ultra-wealthy family. The patriarch, Logan Roy, is the head of a large media conglomerate, Waystar Royco.

Logan Roy is aging and can’t run the company forever. Who will take over? And what are they willing to do for it?

In the first season, other members of the family fight among themselves, hoping to be the next to lead the family empire. At first, she’s happy to stay above the fray, working in politics. But like pretty much every character on Succession, it doesn’t take long for the cracks to show.

The show is currently airing it’s fourth and final season.

Linda Holmes, one of the terrific hosts of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour, talked with Sarah in 2020 about what it’s like to play one of the most fascinating, complex and confounding characters on television today.

In this episode...

Jesse Thorn

Host

Kevin Ferguson

Senior Producer

Jesus Ambrosio

Producer

Richard Robey

Maximum Fun Producer

Daniel Huecias

Maximum Fun Production Fellow

Daniel Arón Speer

Video Editor

Guests

Sarah Snook

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